


Meine Kleine Brüder

by Written Daydream (Timmy_sempai)



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Brothers, Death, Grief, Loss, Love, Multi, Overprotective Brother, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-09-21 15:39:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9555356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Timmy_sempai/pseuds/Written%20Daydream
Summary: Prussia wasn't always such an asshole. Actually, he used to be reserved and serious, but the loss of his little brother, Holy Roman Empire, threw him into the endless pit of depression.  Now he does everything he can to protect his new brother, Germany. Prussia seeks to make amends with the past and forgive himself in the process, but the road won't be such an easy one.





	1. Holy Rome and Little Italy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prussia expresses his concerns about Holy Rome to Austria while Holy Rome and Italy play outside.

It started with a dress and ended with a push broom. The young Holy Roman Empire, also referred to as Holy Rome, had fallen tremendously and irrevocably in love with the charming yet clueless Northern Italy. The two countries had been raised together under the watchful eye of Austria and the tender touch of Hungary. Prussia, Holy Rome's older brother, often stopped by to check up on him, but never stayed too long because he was always so busy dealing with other countries. All in all, they had an unusual family structure.  
On this particular day, Prussia had come to speak with Austria about something, but ended up watching the two children from one of the many windows. Austria had joined him, his daily cup of tea in hand. “You know, Prussia, even though he doesn’t say it aloud, I know Holy Rome misses you.”  
“You know I can’t bring him with me, Austria. It’s too dangerous. Besides,” Prussia watched as Holy Rome proudly presented Italy with a small bouquet of flowers, “he loves Italy. I could never take that away from him.”  
Italy happily accepted the flowers from Holy Rome, even going so far as to hug him before running away from a butterfly. Holy Rome watched for a moment before chasing after him and attempting to swat the butterfly away. He felt silly doing it, but he also knew Italy probably believed the butterfly was trying to eat his flowers (as he often stated while picking some of his own), and Holy Rome loved him, so he did everything he could to make the boy in the little green dress as happy as possible. After the defeat of the butterfly, Holy Rome gently took Italy’s hand and promised to protect him from all the evil of the world. This was something that would remain with Italy forever.  
“Yes, I’m well aware of your situation.” With a sigh, Austria turned his gaze from the children to Prussia. “At least try to visit more often. And when you do visit, actually try to interact with the child. You’re his brother, so act like it.”  
“Fine. Fine.” Prussia continued watching the children. He couldn’t help but enjoy their innocence. God knows they won’t be so innocent for much longer. It almost made Prussia sad to think about. “Hey, Austria? Is there any way to avoid dragging him into this war? I’ve done everything I can, but I still get this feeling that it’s inevitable. That something is going to happen to him.”  
“I don’t know, Prussia. We can only hope you’re wrong.” Austria watched Holy Rome chase Italy around the field with concerned eyes. “I pray to God this war ends soon.”


	2. Goodbyes and a Push Broom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prussia's nightmare has started to come true. He returns to Austria's estate to bring Holy Rome with him to war.

Prussia returned not even a week later to collect Holy Rome for war. He wouldn’t tell anyone at the time, but he had been crying for hours before leaving to get his little brother. It was one of the hardest things Prussia had ever had to do, but there was no avoiding it. Prussia arrived with puffy red eyes and a tear-stained uniform. Austria quickly helped him get cleaned up before the children saw, then everyone gathered to say their goodbyes.  
“Italy. I have to tell you something. I have to go with big brother Prussia to fight. You don’t have to be afraid anymore.” Prussia stood with his soldiers as Holy Rome and Italy spoke.  
“Wait…what do you mean?” Everyone could see the innocent confusion on Italy’s face. “You’re really leaving?”  
“Sí. You take good care of yourself, Italy.” Tears formed in the child’s eyes as he realized Holy Rome meant what he was saying.  
“But I don’t want you to go! Please don’t leave me!” Italy grabbed on to Holy Rome’s sleeve as he begged and cried. Then he ran off, but soon came back carrying his favorite broom. “Here. Take this with you. Maybe then you won’t forget about me.”  
“Why would this…oh, I see.” Holy Rome took the broom from Italy. “Grazie! I would be honored to have your push broom. But now I feel like I should give something back. What do your people usually do when they like someone?”  
“Uh…kiss, I guess.”  
“I see.” Holy Rome took Italy’s tiny hand in his and looked deeply into his eyes. “I’ve liked you for a very long time, since at least the tenth century.” With bright red cheeks, he have Italy the sweetest kiss he could muster.  
“Oh…really?”  
“Yes, really. I wouldn’t lie to you about that.”  
“Oh! That makes me so happy!”  
“Well, I must be off. Be careful, Italy. When this war finally ends, I promise I’ll come and see you again.”  
“I’ll miss you! I’ll be waiting.” At this point, Italy looked slightly happier, probably because of the kiss. “I’ll make lots of treats for when you get back! Try not to get sick or injured or die a violent death! I know we’ll see each other again! I just know it!”  
Prussia stood rigidly as he watched the scene unfold before him, silently praying that Italy was right. He wanted nothing more than to run away and continue to leave Holy Rome in Austria’s care, but he remained where he stood. “Holy Roman Empire, we have to leave now. We cannot delay any longer.”  
“Yes sir!” Holy Rome called out to his older brother before turning back to Italy. “No matter how much time passes, you will always be my favorite.” Then he turned and saluted Prussia before walking away.  
Prussia returned the salute, then gave Austria a solemn nod before departing as well. It only took him a couple steps to catch up with his younger brother. “I know you will miss Italy. I plan to do everything I can to make sure you come back to her. That’s a promise.”  
“Grazie, Prussia, but I will be perfectly fine on my own. How else will I prove that I can take care of myself?” Holy Rome looked so serious as he said this. Prussia couldn’t help but worry about how his little brother would fare in this war, especially if he continued to refuse help.  
Instead of expressing his true feelings, Prussia simply smiled and laughed. “Yes, of course. That’s all a part of growing up. But don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.” With a quiet ‘hmph', Holy Rome continued the trek to the campgrounds with Prussia.


	3. Overprotective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prussia calls a meeting to go over battle plans, but it doesn't go quite as he expected,

The next 7 years were spent moving around and fighting. Holy Rome quickly grew as he conquered many nations and created alliances, all with Prussia's help (but he didn’t know that). In fact, Holy Rome was now taller than his older brother, and he took pride in that. Prussia was both elated to see his little brother grow up so quickly and uneasy because the foreboding feeling in the pit of his stomach remained.  
Today, Prussia had called a meeting to go over future battle plans. He watched as his commanding officers gathered around the table along with Holy Rome and his commanding officers. Once everyone was settled, Prussia leaned forward, resting his palms on the edge of the table, with a grin on his face for the first time in many years. “Well, boys, you’ve done well. We’ve managed to bring down many of France’s troops and we’ll continue to do so. We’ll show the world the awesome power of the Prussian and Holy Roman Empires.” Despite his uneasiness about bringing his younger brother into the war, Prussia had a newfound confidence that he might make it out alive. “I’ve received word from Austria that Napoleon has settled his troops near a town called Austerlitz. That’s where we’ll strike next.” He points to a place on the map labelled with the same name. “I want half my men to charge from the left and the other half to come in from the right. Holy Rome, I want your men to sneak around to their rear and strike from there. Hopefully we will be able to catch them unaware. Holy Rome and I will take up the front and fight side by side.” Then Prussia turned his gaze to Holy Rome, his grin faltering a bit. “There’s a chance France himself will show up to this battle. If you see him, retreat. Do not engage him in any way. Do you understand?”  
“What?” Holy Rome appeared surprised then frustrated. “I can fight on my own. You’ve seen what I’m capable of!”  
The others in the tent seemed to hold their breaths as they watched the two brothers. They knew all to well how persistent Prussia could be and how stubborn Holy Rome was. It was only a matter of time before the two countries butted heads with one another.  
“Yes, I know. But I also know how dangerous France is. If he gets a hold of you, that’s it, you’re done, and I will not allow that to happen.” Prussia stood up straight and, still grinning, looked Holy Rome straight in the eyes. Usually his bright red eyes left people feeling unsettled, but Holy Rome had gotten used to them, so he managed to stand his ground. “You will stay near me during this next battle. You will make it out of this war alive. You just have to do what I tell you without question. Is that understood?”  
Holy Rome now glared at Prussia. He took a deep breath before turning his nose up defiantly and declaring, “No. I will fight however I wish and you can’t stop me. I will prove to you and everybody else that the Holy Roman Empire is the greatest country to ever exist. Even greater than you, brother. And that’s final.”  
Prussia’s grin fell and fear crept into his eyes. “No. My word is final. I’m the eldest and therefore you must listen to me.” He could feel the panic rising within him and that foreboding feeling had returned to his gut. “Why can’t you understand this is for your own good? If you don’t want to listen to me, then maybe I should keep you out of the battle altogether. Yes. That would be the safest option.”  
“I said no!” Prussia watched as his younger brother slammed his fist down onto the table, causing a loud bang that startled the other men in the tent. “This meeting is over.” Holy Rome turned with a grunt and stomped out of the tent. Prussia slowly exhaled through is nose, to show his frustration, before he dismissed the other men and ran after his brother.  
“Holy Rome!” He waited for a response, but received none. “Holy Rome!” Still nothing. “Holy Roman Empire, you stop right there!” Prussia hated having to take such a serious tone with his brother, but it seemed to be the only way to get him to listen at that moment.  
“What? What more could you possibly have to say to me?” Holy Rome spun around to face Prussia, frustration and something else, that Prussia couldn’t identify, apparent on his face. “I thought I had already proven to you that I am more than capable of handling myself in battle, but I can see that I was wrong. What else do you want me to do?”  
“I am well aware what you are capable of, but this battle…” Prussia faltered for a moment. He had always had trouble showing his true emotions, except for when he was around Austria, so now he has to force himself to finish what he had been saying. “I don’t have a good feeling about this battle. Brother…I’m afraid.”  
Holy Rome’s face fell. His older brother, the man he looked up to but would never actually admit it, was afraid. The man that had already slain hundreds, maybe even thousands, of men was now telling him that he was afraid. However, instead of feeling any kind of sympathy for the man, Holy Rome now felt suspicious. “Nice try, brother. I do not plan on backing out of this war simply because you say you are afraid. I’ve seen you in battle, you’re one of the fiercest fighters I’ve ever seen, so I refuse to believe that you’re actually afraid of fighting. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to inform my men of the battle plan. You should do likewise.” With a flourish of his cape, Holy Rome marched off toward his section of the camp.  
Prussia pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes to keep himself from crying out of frustration. ‘Why? Why? Why? Why doesn’t he believe me?’ He then turned and re-entered the tent they had been in just a few moments before, only this time he was alone. Prussia leaned his elbows on top of the table and bent down to place his head in his hands, desperately pulling at his hair. 'Since he refuses to listen to me, I’ll just have to make sure he never leaves my sight on the battlefield. I can’t lose sight of him.’ After making this vow, Prussia glanced over the map one more time, his eyes lingering on the place marked 'Austerlitz.’


	4. Yet Another Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Battle of Austerlitz proves to be a bit of a challenge...

Today was the day. The day Holy Rome had been waiting for. The day Prussia had been dreading. The two armies had been marching for three days already and had only just arrived at Austerlitz. They'd had no time to rest before carrying out their ambush on Napoleon and his forces. Prussia took extra care to seek out Holy Rome before anything else, however, and stuck to his side.

“I can take care of myself, you know. I am stronger than you seem to think.” Holy Rome didn’t even bother to look at Prussia. He was still upset about what had happened several days earlier. “I’m not some weakling.”

Prussia chuckled at his younger brother’s declaration. “I know. I am your big brother, though, so it’s only natural that I worry about you. I just wish you would accept that.” He dropped the smile, giving Holy Rome a look that showed he meant business. “I’m not joking around when I say I want you by my side on the battlefield today. It’s not just so I can protect you, I also want to be able to say that we won this war together.”

Finally, Holy Rome looked up at Prussia with a resigned gaze. “Fine. I will fight by your side, but only because I want that honor as well. There is nothing better than being able to fight alongside your brother.”

“We will show the world our awesome power!” The grin returned to Prussia, as did his confidence. He no longer felt despair about the oncoming battle and went into it with renewed vigor. “Let’s show these arschlöcher who they’re messing with! Charge!”

With that order, Prussia, Holy Rome, and their men went charging into the town. What they saw, however, stopped them in their tracks. There stood the French army, all grinning as if they had been expecting them. Neither France not Napoleon were in sight. With another battle cry, Prussia charged forward again, and so did the French. The first clashing of swords echoed through the town before it was crowned out by the sounds of battle. Already, Prussia could feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, pushing him forward. He slashed and hacked his way through France’s forces like they were nothing, all while keeping an eye on his brother. ‘So far, so good,' he thought to himself. It seemed Holy Rome was doing well and Prussia had nothing to worry about. With this in mind, he was able to focus more on the battle.

Prussia worked his way toward the center, guessing that’s where Napoleon might be. Sure enough, the short man entered Prussia’s sight. Grinning, he approached Napoleon from behind and went on for a slash. The other man was warned by one of his soldiers, however, and Prussia lost the element of surprise. This didn’t stop him, though. Their swords clashed and the two men grinned at each other. They retreated, advanced, slashed, stabbed, and advanced at one another, with neither of them gaining the upper hand. That is, until one brief lapse in concentration from Prussia provided Napoleon the perfect opportunity to strike. Prussia’s sword flew from his hand right before he was sent sprawling onto the ground with a punch to the gut. He mentally cursed himself for letting Napoleon get too close. Glaring at the Frenchman before closing his eyes, Prussia knew he had been defeated and awaited the death that never came.

Prussia was very confused as he just listened to the battle rage on around him; his eyes still tightly shut. He could sense a familiar presence standing over him. Opening his eyes, Prussia noticed a pair of dusty, black boots. He moved his gaze up and broke out into a grin when he realized who had come to his rescue. “Brüder! It seems I am the one that needed saving.” Holy Rome offered a hand to help his brother up. “I am eternally grateful. Now why don’t we finish this battle together?”

“Yes. I think that sounds nice.” It seemed Holy Rome had loosened up since the fighting had started. He returned Prussia’s sword to him. “I believe you’ll need this.”

The two brothers stood back-to-back, facing enemies on all sides. When Prussia took a step forward, Holy Rome took a step back and vice versa. Under any other circumstance, one might have thought the two were dancing, but this was a battlefield, not a ballroom. The bodies piled up and Prussia’s grin grew bigger with each one. Prussia had been so focused that he hadn’t realized Holy Rome was no longer at his back. He cut down another soldier before turning around to check on his little brother. His heart dropped and panic began to set in. Prussia looked around, frantically searching for Holy Rome. No matter where he looked, he could not see the face of his brother. It wasn’t until he heard a spine-chilling laugh in the distance that Prussia knew exactly where Holy Rome was.

It felt like an arctic breeze had completely froze Prussia to the spot. He wanted to move. He was so desperate to reach Holy Rome, but his feet felt like giant lumps of lead. All Prussia could do was watch from between the soldiers still fighting. Holy Rome stood tall and proud, full of confidence before a wickedly grinning France. The man looked terrifying despite the powder blue uniform that looked like it belonged in a cathedral on Sunday morning instead of a battlefield. France always had a way of making a fool of himself, even in battle. Pulling from his thoughts, Prussia focused once again on the scene before him. Everything else seemed to slow down. With his wicked grin and slow, deliberate movements, France approached Holy Rome. He was saying something to the young man, but Prussia couldn’t tell what. It must have scared Holy Rome because he went white as a sheet then raised his sword. Even from that distance, Prussia could tell he was shaking, but he knew his brother wasn’t about to back down. He always was a stubborn one.

The fight between Holy Rome and France began, and Prussia couldn’t do a damn thing about it. He held out hope that Holy Rome might defeat France. A very small ray of hope. Once again France laughed at Holy Rome. He brought up his musket and took aim at the young man in front of him. Prussia stopped breathing entirely as the next moment passed.

_BANG!_

Prussia could see his own hand reach out, as if to stop the bullet, but he was too far away. Blood sprayed from Holy Rome’s back, staining both his uniform and the ground bright red. Somehow Holy Rome still stood. This irritated France, so he quickly reloaded and let out another shot.

_BANG!_

This time, Prussia watched as his little brother’s head was blown to bits. It was at that moment Prussia’s feet propelled him forward, faster than he ever thought he could run. He shoved through the throng of soldiers, heart pounding like a war drum. Maybe he had just imagined it. Holy Rome wasn’t really dead. Maybe that wasn’t even him on the ground. Prussia prayed to every god he could think of as he came closer and closer to the scene. He looked around for France, but it seemed the man had already retreated. Prussia slowed down as he finally reached the body and his heart dropped. There was no denying it. Holy Rome was dead and France was the murderer. Prussia’s entire body began to shake, causing him to fall to his knees. He reached out and trailed fingers over the few badges that had been pinned to the uniform. Then he touched his little brother’s face, or rather what was left of it. Rage swelled within him. He wanted to go on a rampage, killing everyone France ever loved. But he didn’t. Prussia couldn’t bring himself to leave his little brother. Not yet.

Prussia remained where he was for quite some time. He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but he didn’t care. Nothing mattered anymore. He had lost the one thing he cared most about and it was killing him on the inside. With shaky hands, Prussia gathered up Holy Rome’s tricorne, unpinned his badges, and tore of a piece of his uniform to have something to remember him by. It was painful. Not in the physical sense, but in the emotional and mental ways. Holding the keepsakes tight, Prussia stood up and began walking away as if nothing were wrong. He would not admit how broken he was.

Prussia strolled through his camp, his eyes glazed over but a smile on his face. His soldiers worked on treating the injured and identifying the dead, but Prussia headed straight for his tent. He reluctantly tucked his keepsakes into his saddle bag before taking a deep breath. Mourning would have to wait. He had an army to attend to. Prussia stepped back outside and yelled out for the entire camp to hear. “Alright men! We may have lost this battle, but we can still win the war or I am not the awesome Prussia!”


End file.
